The Training Imperative

The Training Imperative

|1-1. Every soldier, noncommissioned officer (NCO), warrant officer, and officer has one primary mission—to be trained and ready to|
|fight and win our Nation's wars. Success in battle does not happen by accident; it is a direct result of tough, realistic, and |
|challenging training. The Army exists to deter war, or if deterrence fails, to reestablish peace through victory in combat |
|wherever U.S. interests are challenged. To accomplish this, the Army's forces must be able to perform their assigned strategic, |
|operational, and tactical missions. For deterrence to be effective, potential enemies must know with certainty that the Army has |
|the credible, demonstrable capability to mobilize, deploy, fight, sustain, and win any conflict. Training is the process that |
|melds human and materiel resources into these required capabilities. The Army has an obligation to the American people to ensure |
|its soldiers go into battle with the assurance of success and survival. This is an obligation that only rigorous and realistic |
|training, conducted to standard, can fulfill. |
|1-2. We train the way we fight because our historical experiences show the direct correlation between realistic training and |
|success on the battlefield. Today's leaders must apply the lessons of history in planning training for tomorrow's battles. We can |
|trace the connection between training and success in battle to our Army’s earliest experiences during the American Revolution. |
|General Washington had long sensed the need for uniform training and organization and, during the winter of 1777-1778 while camped|
|at Valley Forge, he secured the appointment of Von Steuben, a Prussian, as inspector general in charge of training. Von Steuben |
|clearly understood the difference between the American citizen-soldier and the European professional. He noted early...

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